FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

HOMILY ON THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Isa.12; Luke 1:39-56 Encountering Jesus through Mary’s Visitation Before His Ascension, when Jesus spoke to His disciples about his impending departure, He assured them that His departure does not mean His absence because the Holy Spirit will come to guide them to the truth. Since Jesus is the truth, the Holy Spirit guides us to discover Jesus. It is this guidance of the Holy Spirit to discover Jesus that we celebrate in the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast does not just mean to say that Mary visited Elizabeth; they were cousins and so, she would have done that a number of times. This feast rather outlines the first visit of the Mother of God (to Elizabeth). Mary had just been told by the Angel Gabriel that she will be the Mother of God. Immediately she goes to visit Elizabeth. Through her greeting, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit who also guided her to discover ...

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE EIGHT WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE I (MAY 30, 2023) Sirach 35:1-12; Ps.50; Mark 10:28-31 The command to GIVE Last Sunday, we celebrated the giving of the Holy Spirit to man. Yesterday, Jesus, while hanging on the cross, gave us His mother and gave His mother to us. For these past two days, what we have seen is the total self-empting of the Christ to humanity – the fullest expression of love. In Jesus, God gave man everything. The readings of today teach us how well we can reciprocate this uncommon kind gesture of total self-empting; it is by being charitable to others too. Since we have received freely, we must give freely. In the first reading, the author of the book of Sirach talked about different levels of giving. First, he talked about the giving of our obedience and docility to God. This giving is foundational to others forms of giving. God desires that we become holy by keeping his commandments. Without righteousness, whatever we claim to do in God’s na...

Mary is our Mother too-HOMILY FOR MONDAY AFTER PENTECOST – MEMORIAL OF MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH MAY 2023 Gen.3:9-15,20; Ps. 87; John 19:25-34 Mary is our Mother too Today we celebrate the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church. This celebration focuses on the relationship between Mary and the Church of Christ. In the first reading of today, we saw the fall of our first parents. They fell because they disobeyed God. When Adam was asked why he fell, he blamed it on Eve who gave him the forbidden fruit to eat. By this, the co-operation of woman was clearly highlighted in the fall of humanity. It became necessary that the co-operation of a woman be also highlighted in the rise of humanity. This was what Jesus ensured in the gospel reading. While already at the point of death, he would not die until he had completed his work for man. Since he was in the business of emptying himself for humanity, leaving man with his mother too was something very important. So, he established a Mother-Son ...

HOMILY FOR SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST SUNDAY, YEAR A Acts 2:1-11; Ps.104; 1Cor.12:3b-7.12-13; John 20:19-23 “ _They were all filled with the Holy Spirit_ ” (Acts 2:4) Understanding the workings of the Holy Spirit The first reading of today opens with: “when the day of Pentecost had come…” Truly, this is the long awaited day we have been preparing for. Many of us, in not all, have entered this day with some huge expectations, namely, that we shall experience the presence and impact of the Holy Spirit within us and it will bring about huge manifestations in/for us. Our expectations is fueled by the nine days novena preparations we undertook before this day. For some, the novena was a moment of silent prayers and meditations; for some, it was a period of vocal and spontaneous/radical prayers. Maybe there are some too who were too busy to do a novena but are not without expectations for this day. But what do we expect the Holy Spirit to do for us and with us? The readings of today make us unde...

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 15:13b-21; Ps.103; John 21:15-19 Seek consolation in Jesus! It is sometimes easier to bore suffering when other persons are involved. But if one happens to be suffering alone, the pain seem to be more. In the gospel reading of yesterday, Jesus revealed to Peter how he (Peter) was going to die; through martyrdom. When Jesus was making this revelation, he was not addressing all the disciples but Peter alone. The painful death that awaited Peter was more painful since it was for Peter alone. In the gospel reading of today, Peter inquired how another disciple was going to die. If the disciple was also to experience martyrdom, Peter would have been consoled that he was alone. But if not, maybe Peter would have inquired why his case was sadly different. Maybe this was part of the reason Jesus did not directly answer Peter’s question. The answer Jesus gave Peter was as good as saying “mind your business”. Beloved, many of us today behave ...

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 25:13b-21; Ps.103; John 21:15-19 Jesus does not doubt our capacity to love one another. hence, he trusts in us We cannot apply the principles of the world to the kingdom of God if we must cooperate with God in establishing His kingdom here on earth. When people seek positions in the society, they write beautiful manifestos or curriculum vitae stating how qualified they are for the positions they desire. Such positions will invariably improve their standard of living. The gospel reading of today presents us with a contrary principle with which God operates. First, God does not call us because we are qualified but because He wants to qualify us. God bestows His gifts on us not because we deserve it but because He wants to work in and through us. And so, Jesus bestowed authority on Peter today despite the fact that Peter denied him three times. The only qualification Jesus demanded of Peter was love. It was necessary that Jesus demanded...

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps.16; John 17:20-26 Persevere in doing good! It is often said that the reward of good work is more work. This is because one who has been faithful in little things can be presumed to be faithful in greater things compared to another who has not shown faithfulness at all in what is little. In the social sphere, we find it easy to accommodate the above idea. An employee to whom the employer always assigns duties will feel privileged because such indicates that the employer trusts him or her so well. It also indicates that the employer will handsomely reward the employee someday. This general conception may attract the envy of other employees. However, it seems difficult for us to understand how this principle also applies in our spiritual journey. To lead a good Christian life is a good work. Always, God rewards such good work by putting us in more situations where our goodness can turn things for the better. So, if ...